The crowd was substantial for the Stanton Americana auction on October 18. The sale, which started with an outdoor “pavilion” sampler at 5 pm, consisted of an impressive 368 lots. Much of the material in this sale was from the Stuart Beebe Historical Homestead, Main Street, Hamden.

The top lot of this well-rounded auction was a large and dramatic oil painting by William Coates, measuring 23 by 33 inches, dated 1820. Done on panel, it was a view of “The Schooner Guard and the Snow Chase off Elsinore Castle.” In the notes and advertising about this painting, it says that Coates was only listed for one year,1823, as a marine painter. After an enthusiastic round of competitive bidding the Coates brought $15,120.

American, Nineteenth Century gamecock weathervane, copper with zinc legs and a mellow, worn patina. It sold for $6,608 to the phone.

A 34-by-44-inch oil on canvas, “Moonlight on Farmstead,” byAmerican artist George Hays, dated 1887, sold for $2,576, despitethe fact that it was unframed and appeared to be somewhat in roughcondition. Other paintings included the Marietta C. Fernand,24-by-36-inch still life, a basket of flowers, which brought$1,120.

Furniture included both formal and American country examples. A late Eighteenth Century Queen Anne table with an oval top and delicate pad feet sold for $1,120. A very folky and rustic early Eighteenth Century American step back cupboard in an old surface sold for $2,240.

Formal furniture included a period four-drawer bow front Sheraton chest in mahogany with cookie corner columns, which brought $1,008. A stylish Victorian walnut carved oval marble top table with an elegant base, opened at $800 and sold for $952. A circa 1815 neoclassical desk from Connecticut, in tiger and bird’s-eye maple and mahogany, brought $2,072. An early Nineteenth Century or late Eighteenth Century tilt top table in mahogany, birch and maple was thought to be from Newport. It seemed like a great buy for a period table, selling for just $896. A Victorian cylinder desk of burled walnut was carved and had leather inserts with a wonderful surface, $2,016.

John Williamson, “The Catskill Hunt,” 1876, oil on canvas, a punchy and dramatic American wilderness scene, opened at $4,000, and sold to the phone for $6,720.

An oil on canvas, by F.E. King, measuring 20 by 18 inches,which depicted a mountain landscape with cascading water sold to abidder on the phone for $1,120. A rare watercolor of a windmill inLong Island, which was done by Mary Nimmo Moran, the wife of ThomasMoran, was presented midway through the sale. It measured 10 by 14inches and was dated 1872. It sold for $3,248.

Peter Stanton Imler always has a selection of a few folk art weathervanes at his sales, and this one was no exception. A very folky and appealing weathervane of hollow copper with gold patina, zinc feet and legs, in the form of a gamecock, sold for $6,608. A Nineteenth Century oil on canvas marine painting, a depiction of the Barque Moses Kimball drew a great deal of interest at the sale. The allure of the provenance – it had come from the Nina Fletcher Little collection – drew many phone and floor bidders. After an intense round of spirited bidding, the painting brought $6,720 from the phone.

There were several European paintings which Imler had unearthed from local estates. One was a Henri Lerolle, oil on canvas, of a woman walking with her dog on a moonlit night. With interest from the floor and two phones battling it out, the painting sold for $3,360.

A Victorian period burl and walnut cylinder secretary desk was carved, with leather inserts on the writing surface, and a polished original surface. It brought $2,016.

A Pierre Celestin Billet oil on canvas, a depiction of apeasant woman, dated 1886, sold to the phone for $2,128. A vividAmerican Nineteenth Century oil on canvas of a basket of fruit byA.J. Shaw, measuring 12 by 16 inches, sold for $1,008. Althoughthere was little Twentieth Century art at this sale, a lithographby American artist Robert Burns Motherwell, No. 56/100, sold midwaythrough the auction for $560.

A John Williamson painting dated 1876 and titled “The Catskill Hunt,” shows a dramatic wilderness scene from the late Nineteenth Century. It opened with a solid $4,000 bid and sold to a buyer on the phone for $6,720.

A Nineteenth Century brass bound and very unusual captain’s map chest brought $448. A folky and decorative swinging butter churn, with original yellow paint and advertising from Bellow’s Falls, Vt., stenciled on its side, sold for $280.

Henri Lerolle, oil on canvas of a woman walking in the moonlight with a dog, 32 by 151/2 inches. With two phones competing the painting escalated to its selling price of $3,360.

Sudbury, Mass., fireman and antiques dealer, Gary Bardsley,won the large folio Currier & Ives print, “The Life of aFireman,” 17 by 26 inches, a graphic depiction of firemenstruggling with a very big fire. Bardsley seemed very pleased whenhe won the print for $784. An oil on board by artist Louis C.Hankes, a scene from Gloucester Harbor, brought $3,584.

All prices quoted include buyer’s premium of 12 percent.

Stanton’s is at 106 East Longmeadow Road, just west of Brimfield. This second generation family-run firm has a spacious auction hall with an open air pavilion for the preauction auction. Peter Stanton Imler always has lots of fresh material, and a great variety of items, including fine and folk art, formal and country furniture, toys, silver and lots of accessories. This well attended sale not only drew buyers to the sale itself, but there were plenty of phone and left bids.

For information, 413-566-3161 or www.stantonauctions.com.